The Aquarius Barrier was successfully installed at Ellen Cove in Albany. The installation process was generally smooth and well planned; the only hurdles we encountered were environmental factors such as a shark attack on a pygmy whale and poor weather conditions. After successfully tendering for the contract in December last year, we managed to complete the installation 3 weeks ahead of our anticipated schedule.
The installation team began with the blocks, chains and anchors last Monday and after installing all the permanent infrastructure we had to finish off the process by connecting the barrier to the ground chains. The Aquarius Barrier is delivered pre-assembled to site which significantly reduces the amount of time spent assembling on the beach and minimises the disruption to the local community. The last part of the installation, connecting the barrier to the ground chain, turned out to be the most difficult part of the process as we had to wait for a period of good weather so that the installation dive team could safely work in the swell.
We produced a short video that outlines the installation process: